Five Things Iowan’s Need to Check for National Tire Safety Week

It's National Tire Safety Week! YAY! What? You don't celebrate this week with a rubber cake shaped like a tire? Hm. Guess I'm weird. Anyway, it may be as boring as holidays can get, but it's a good reminder to make sure you're being safe out there on the roads.

Here are five things you're supposed to do this week:

1. Check your tire pressure. It fluctuates with the weather and can drop about one PSI per month. You can usually find your optimum PSI on the inside of your driver's side door. Over or under inflating can shorten the life of your tire, and affect gas mileage.

2. Check the tread on your tires. The easiest way is with a penny. Hold it so Lincoln is upside down and facing you. Then stick it in the grooves of each tire. If you can see his entire head, it's time for new tires.

3. Look for any other wear and tear. Check for any bulges or bubbles on the sides of each tire. It's a sign the tube inside is leaking air. (Here's what it looks like.)

4. Figure out if it's time to have them rotated or aligned. Your tires wear down in different spots depending on where they are back, front, left, or right. So ideally, you should have them rotated every six months, or six to eight thousand miles.

5. Make sure your spare tire is usable. Make sure it's not flat, so you can use it if you need to. A recent survey found 29% of Americans have never checked the air pressure in their spare tire.